Jonah 3.9-The Basis For The Decree Was To Cause God To Change His Mind And Relent Thus Sparing The Lives Of The Ninevites
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday November 18, 2010
Jonah: Jonah 3:9-The Basis For The Decree Was To Cause God To Change His Mind And Relent Thus Sparing The Lives Of The Ninevites
Lesson # 45
Please turn in your Bibles to Jonah 3:1.
This evening, we will note Jonah 3:9, which records the king of Nineveh revealing the basis for the decree, namely to cause God to change His mind and relent from destroying Nineveh, thus sparing the lives of the Ninevites.
Jonah 3:1, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.’ 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days’ walk. 4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’ 5 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. 6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes. 7 He issued a proclamation and it said, ‘In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. 8 But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. 9 Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.’” (NASU)
“Who knows?” is a rhetorical question that expresses the king’s hope that God would change His mind and relent from overturning Nineveh.
In Jonah 3:4, we noted that this verse is a temporal clause that tells the reader that the Lord would overturn Nineveh at the end of forty days.
Jonah 3:4 records an announcement of judgment that was conditional rather than an unconditional decree of God.
It is therefore not a prophecy or a decree since the forty days obviously implies to the Ninevites that the Lord wants them to repent since He could have destroyed them immediately without warning.
The forty days leaves room open for repentance.
This is also indicated by the fact that the verb hā∙p̄ǎḵ, “will be overturned” is ambiguous since it can signify “judgment, a turning upside down, a reversal, a change, a deposing of royalty, or a change of heart.”
Therefore, Jonah’s message from the Lord can be interpreted by the Ninevites as “at the end of the forty days Nineveh will be destroyed” or “at the end of the forty days Nineveh will have a change of heart.”
The Lord didn’t need forty days to muster up the power and resources to destroy the city since He could do it immediately.
So the Lord told Jonah that Nineveh would be changed, turned upside down but whether for good or evil, he did not known and neither did the Ninevites.
The Ninevites response to the message would determine the city’s destiny.
If God had intended to wipe out Nineveh, what reason was there for Him to tell the Ninevites about it, and then send Jonah to inform the people of Nineveh of His intention.
God tells of judgment in advance so as to afford an opportunity for men to repent.
The Lord’s desire was not to destroy the city of Nineveh but rather His will was to forgive them and show mercy to them even though they rebelled against Him.
Jonah knew this about the Lord and did not like it.
So the rhetorical question in Jonah 3:9 expresses the king’s hope that God would change His mind and relent from overturning Nineveh at the end of forty days.
This announcement of judgment against Nineveh was conditional.
Therefore, God changed His mind in the sense that He did not act on this announcement as a result of observing the king and his subjects humbling themselves before Him by fasting and clothing themselves in sackcloth and crying out to Him for mercy and forgiveness.
It also acknowledges that God who is holy would be justified in overturning their city for the wicked conduct towards others.
“God” is the masculine plural form of the noun ʾělō∙hîm (אֱלֹהִים) (el-o-heem), which emphasizes the transcendent character of God and in particular His attributes of omnipotence, sovereignty and love.
The narrator uses ělō∙hîm rather than Yahweh since he wants to emphasize that the Ninevites who were Gentiles were not members of the covenant nation of Israel.
It is also used to emphasize that Yahweh is God, the only true God.
“May turn” is the third person masculine singular qal active imperfect form of the šûḇ (שׁוּב) (shoob), which means “to turn,” i.e. “to change one’s mind about taking a certain course of action, to abandon the decision to take a certain course of action.”
Here it is used of God changing His mind about overturning Nineveh at the end of forty days as a result of seeing the Ninevites fasting and putting on sackcloth and crying out to Him for mercy and forgiveness.
In other words, it refers to Him abandoning His decision to overturn Nineveh at the end of forty days as a result of seeing the Ninevites fasting and putting on sackcloth and crying out to Him for mercy and forgiveness.
This verb refers to God’s mind or thinking whereas the verb nā∙ḥǎm speaks of God acting upon what He is thinking.
This verb is used in an anthropopathic sense meaning that the human characteristic of changing one’s mind is ascribed to God even though He doesn’t change His mind.
This figure is used by the writer in order to convey the Lord’s decision to not overturn Nineveh at the end of forty days in terms that the reader can understand.
“Relent” is the third person masculine singular niphal passive perfect form of the verb nā∙ḥǎm (נָחַם) (naw-kham), which means “to relent” in the sense of ceasing from taking a particular course of action, usually with emphasis upon a gracious act.
Here the word is used of course with God as its subject.
Therefore, the verb refers to God graciously not acting upon His decision to overturn Nineveh at the end of forty days as a result of seeing their actions as recorded in verses 6-8.
Jonah 3:9, “Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.” (NASU)
“Withdraw” is the third person masculine singular qal active perfect form of the verb šûḇ (שׁוּב) (shoob), which is again used of God but this time it is used of Him abandoning His decision to overturn Nineveh at the end of forty days.
The verb means “to turn from” or “hold back” and is used again in anthropopathic sense of God “turning” from exercising His anger or “holding back” from exercising His anger.
God does not get angry as humans.
This word is language of accommodation so that the reader can understand from the human perspective the seriousness of the situation in Nineveh and God’s displeasure with the Ninevites.
“His burning anger” is composed of the preposition min (מִן) (meen) and the masculine singular construct form of the noun ḥā∙rôn (חָרֹון) (khaw-rone), “burning” and the masculine singular construct form of the noun ʾǎp̄ (אַף) (af), “anger” and the third person masculine singular pronomial suffix –hû (־הוּ) (who), “his.”
The noun ʾǎp̄ means “anger” and is used in a figurative sense for God’s righteous indignation and is modified by the noun ḥā∙rôn, which means “burning” and denotes the intensity of God’s anger or righteous indignation towards Nineveh.
This prepositional phrase speaks of God’s wrath, which is an expression of His holiness.
The difference between righteous indignation and anger is that the former is based upon concern for the holiness of God whereas the latter is emotional, selfish, self-centered, vindictive and intent on harming another.
God’s righteous indignation is the legitimate anger towards evil and sin since both are contrary to His holiness or perfect character and nature.
Jonah 3:9, “Who knows? God may be willing to change His mind so that He graciously relents and consequently refrains from exercising His intense anger so that we will by no means die.” (My translation)
To summarize, this verse reveals the basis for the decree issued to the Ninevites by its king and his nobles.
The rhetorical question “who knows?” expresses the king of Nineveh’s hope that God would change His mind and relent from destroying Nineveh at the end of forty days.
The statement “God may be willing to change His mind” refers to God abandoning His decision to overturn Nineveh at the end of forty days as a result of seeing the Ninevites fasting and putting on sackcloth and crying out to Him for mercy and forgiveness.
“So that He graciously relents” refers to God graciously not acting upon His decision to overturn Nineveh at the end of forty days as a result of the Ninevites fasting and clothing themselves in sackcloth and crying out to Him for mercy and forgiveness.
“And consequently refrains from exercising His intense anger” is another anthropopathism referring to God refraining from exercising His righteous indignation.
So in Jonah 3:9 the king of Nineveh is expressing the hope that God would have mercy on his city and forgive them of their sins.
He is acknowledging that the God of Israel, Jonah’s God, Yahweh is sovereign over him and his city.